


Sam/Brooke Drabbles

by mysensitiveside



Category: Popular (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-24
Updated: 2012-03-24
Packaged: 2017-11-02 10:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 3,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/368180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysensitiveside/pseuds/mysensitiveside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bunch of random Sam/Brooke drabbles</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Different Kind of Chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Physical Chemistry is definitely the best kind of chemistry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: chemistry

“Sam! Lily’s here!” Jane called up the stairs. Sam jumped out of bed. She had lost track of time, and was supposed to go to a movie with Lily today.

“Okay, I’ll be down in just a second!” Sam didn’t really want Lily to come upstairs right at the moment, so she hoped that her statement would preempt any inclination Lily might have to leave the living room.

Taking a last glance in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place and quickly saying bye to Brooke, Sam then bounded down the stairs.

“Hey, Sam. Ready?” At Sam’s smile and nod, Lily continued, “Your mom said that you and Brooke were working on a chemistry project. But that doesn’t make sense, because Glass hasn’t assigned any projects this week...”

Sam’s face instantly flushed, as she murmured, “Um, yeah. Don’t worry about it. Different kind of chemistry.”


	2. A Disappearing Vocabulary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam loses her words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: English

Sam prided herself on her knowledge of the English language. Her vocabulary, in particular, was obviously that of someone way beyond her years. A lot of things had gone wrong in Sam’s life, but words never failed her.

But then Brooke looked at her like that...in that way that Brooke was supposed to be looking at Josh. And when Brooke followed up that look with a kiss, all soft and warm and sweet... For the first time ever, Sam’s shocked mind went completely blank; she couldn’t think of a single word.

So instead of talking, she simply kissed back.


	3. McHotness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam accidentally reveals a little more than she meant to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: anatomy

It was a usual Thursday night. The parentals went out to eat as Sam and Brooke babysat for Mac, followed by _Grey’s Anatomy_ and ice cream. The tradition was a recent one, but Thursday was now both Sam’s and Brooke’s favorite day of the week.

After that Cadillac commercial with Kate Walsh, Sam commented, “I miss Addison. She was hot. I’d take Addison over McDreamy and McSteamy any day.”

Sam didn’t realize that she had actually said the words out loud until Brooke turned to look at her in wide-eyed surprise.

Sam blushed. “Shit. I just outed myself, didn’t I?"


	4. Perks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The perks of being blond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: towel

_Sometimes_ , Brooke thought to herself, _being blond has its perks_.

For example, when she “accidentally” shrunk the towels in the wash, Sam accepted “Well, I’m blond. What do you expect?” as a perfectly legitimate excuse.

To a certain extent, Brooke hated perpetuating the ‘dumb blond’ stereotype, but this time was definitely worth it.

Because now, as she arrived at the top of the stairs just as Sam was exiting the bathroom wrapped only in a towel that was a bit too small, Brooke was rewarded with quite a generous view of Sam’s long, toned legs.

Brooke smirked.

_Yep, definite perks_


	5. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a car accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: clocks

Sam felt like there was a clock inside her head. It was almost all she could hear, lately. Just the counting down of days, hours, minutes, seconds.

It was more like a time bomb than a clock, really.

It had been three weeks, four days, and approximately 37 minutes since Brooke faded out of consciousness and into a coma. Her chance of recovery had already been downgraded from “probable” to “possible,” and if they hit five weeks, it would jump down to “slim.”

“You have to wake up, Brooke,” Sam whispered urgently. “There’s so much that I haven’t told you.”


	6. 2 + 2 = 5?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam’s constant need to argue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: tension

Brooke groaned in frustration after Sam started another random fight with her. They’d already had five heated arguments that week, and it was only Tuesday.

“My God, Sam, what is _wrong_ with you?? I swear, sometimes I think you’d try to claim that two plus two was five, if only to disagree with me!”

When Sam realized that she was actually considering the challenge of arguing that bit of math, she finally admitted to herself that she did have a problem. She really needed to find a better way of dealing with the tension that she constantly felt around Brooke.


	7. Worth It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aches and pains of dating Sam McPherson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: aches  
> Rating: PG-13-ish

Ten seconds after Brooke walked into her apartment, she suddenly found herself with an armful of brunette.

“Hi, Sa--” Her greeting was cut off by an eager mouth, with Sam pushing her backwards until her back met firmly with the door. Sam’s lips quickly began wandering lower, while her fingers edged under Brooke’s shirt.

Brooke had no idea what had gotten into her girlfriend, but she certainly wasn’t complaining, as Sam tossed Brooke’s shirt behind her and sank to her knees, kissing a trail down Brooke’s torso.

Sam made quick work of the rest of Brooke’s clothes, and Brooke arched her head backwards, barely noticing the loud thud as her head connected with the door. All Brooke could process was the sensation of lips, tongue, and fingers, with Sam expertly reducing her to a quivering mess.

Brooke couldn’t keep holding herself upright, so she slid to the floor, with Sam cradling her body and placing a few more light kisses across her skin.

“Hi, honey. How was your day?”

Brooke burst into laughter at Sam’s choice of words, her first ones since Brooke walked in the door. “You’re crazy, you know that?” she asked, still trying to regain her breath.

Sam smirked. “And that’s just one of the reasons why you love me. How’s your head?”

It was only then that Brooke noticed the dull throbbing at the back of her skull.

“Eh. It’ll be sore tomorrow. But trust me, a few aches and pains are _definitely_ worth it!”


	8. Lessons in subtlety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt [from carpesomediem]: The one where Brooke and Sam are all like "OMG, OMG, OMG, why did we do that?"

“Oh my God.” Brooke’s eyes widened as a distinct memory suddenly returned to her. She turned to face Sam, a clear look of panic taking over her features.

“What?” Sam asked in alarm. “ _What_?” she repeated when Brooke simply continued to stare at her.

It took a few attempts, but after Brooke’s mouth opened and closed several times with no sound coming out, she managed some halting words. “Last night... Nicole... Dad and Jane... Oh my God, Sam, why did we _do_ that?”

Sam was seriously starting to freak out. “Do _what_? I know we went to Sugar Daddy’s party, but I drank way too much, and the whole thing is still a blur.”

Brooke took in a deep breath, trying desperately to calm herself. It didn’t work, though, and she could still only stare towards Sam like a deer caught in headlights.

The brunette snapped her fingers sharply right in front of Brooke’s face, startling the cheerleader out of her daze. “Brooke! Focus! What happened? What did we do?”

Shifting her attention back to Sam, Brooke finally provided something coherent: “We played truth or dare.” She paused, searching Sam’s face for any hint of recollection. “And Nicole... Nicole dared us to call our parents together...”

Sam’s brow creased in thought, as Brooke’s statement started to sound vaguely familiar.

Brooke could tell the exact moment when Sam remembered as well, as the reporter’s head jerked up to stare at the blonde in panic.

“Oh God. We didn’t... Did we?”

Brooke simply cringed and nodded, as Sam felt her face go pale.

There were a lot of ways to come out of the closet, but a drunk phone call at 2am to tell your parents that you’ve gone gay for your step-sister probably wasn’t the best way to go.


	9. Pretending To Be Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt [from zep1980]: The one where Brooke and Sam never admit their feelings for each other

It was still painful. Brooke had assumed that it would get easier over time, but so far at least – 10 years down the road – it still hurt just as much.

Brooke eyed her cell phone, going so far as to scroll through the names in her contact list. She stared at the name for a while, before chickening out and closing the phone once again. Email was a lot less personal, but it would have to do, since Brooke wasn’t sure that she could handle hearing her step-sister’s voice at the moment.

_Dear Sam,_

_Happy Anniversary! I’m sure you and Vicky have some fun plans for today. When will you two come on out to California again? Anyway, I’m really happy for you, Sam. Congratulations to you both!_

_Love,  
Brooke_

The blonde sighed as she hit “send” and watched the email disappear. It still felt wrong to lie like that, but it was the only option. To tell the truth... To admit out loud the one thing that she’d never told anyone... That could simply never happen.

It was all for the best, really.

Wasn’t it?


	10. Learning To Be Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel/alternate ending to previous drabble ("Pretending To Be Happy")

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt [from kaushi]: The one to make Kauschi happy.

“Brooke? Are you okay? Brooke, wake up!”

“Back off, Spam. You don’t want her to scream when she opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is you.”

“Oh my Gawd! She’s _dead_!”

“Shut up, Mary Cherry, she’s not dead. We already checked.”

Brooke’s head was swimming.

Swimming in a cloudy haze of thought. Swimming in fragmented flashes of memory. Swimming in pain.

It took a while for the voices around her to fully register. But who were they, and what were they talking about?

Finally, Brooke managed to swim to the surface, her head pushing through that cloudy haze. She opened her eyes.

“Brooke! You’re awake! Are you okay? How’s your head?”

“Her head was probably fine, before she was confronted with the sight of you.”

“Oh my Gawd! She’s _alive_!”

“Didn’t I just tell her that?”

With a groan, Brooke tried to sit up, not quite successful until a pair of hands reached down to steady her. Still feeling an extreme sense of confusion, the cheerleader slowly turned to face her helper, a gorgeous brunette, who looked so worried that Brooke felt like reaching out to give the poor girl a hug.

It took a moment before Brooke could fully place the girl. “Sam,” she finally managed, proud of herself for identifying the right name in spite of the awful ringing inside her head.

“Brooke,” Sam responded immediately, eyes frantically searching Brooke’s face.

“Hey Brookie.” Nicole peered over Sam’s shoulder. “Thanks for providing a break to this God-awful gym class.”

A sudden flare of memory sparked unexpectedly in Brooke’s brain, as she tried to get her bearings. Unsure exactly where the words came from, she found herself turning back to Sam to ask urgently, “Sam, where’s Vicky?”

“Oh my Gawd! She’s _crazy_!”

“Takes one to know one,” muttered Lily under her breath.

Sam’s worried frown grew deeper. “Who are you talking about, Brooke? I don’t know anyone named Vicky. You got clocked pretty hard with a softball; you’ve been out for five minutes.” Twisting to look behind her, Sam called out, “Has anyone gone to get the nurse?”

Brooke remained still, trying to make sense of everything. Sam didn’t know Vicky... So Vicky was what? Part of a dream? Hallucination?

The reporter reached out to help Brooke to her feet, as the blonde continued to try to sort her thoughts into place. Eventually, more of the dream/hallucination/whatever it was came back to her.

She felt her stomach drop as the realization of what it all meant suddenly hit her.

Looking towards Sam once again – caring, smart, beautiful, wonderful, Sam – Brooke knew that this was her chance. She’d seen what would happen if she insisted on keeping the truth inside.

“Sam, there’s something I need to tell you.”


	11. Untitled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: beginnings

_Today is the first day of the rest of your life._

That’s what the president of the university said as she ushered all of her students into the “real” world. Trite, but true.

The day of graduation was somewhat of a blur, but those words have been stuck in Brooke’s head ever since.

She could just quietly continue living life as she has been, Brooke knows. Or else, maybe now is the perfect time to shake things up.

Brooke looks across the kitchen table, where Sam sits reading the newspaper. Though the brunette probably thinks otherwise, she has been far from subtle in showing how much of a crush she has on Brooke. Pretending that she didn’t notice has always felt like Brooke’s only option, though.

But the first day of the rest of Brooke’s life has already come and gone, and Brooke can’t quite remember her reasons for ignoring the way Sam feels, anymore. Ignoring the way they both feel.

Sam doesn’t notice Brooke’s movement until the blonde is standing right next to her. “Um... Hey, Brooke...” she begins questioningly.

As answer, Brooke simply reaches down for Sam’s hand, pulls the brunette to her feet, and does what she’s wanted to do ever since freshman year of high school. She leans in, and she can feel the catch of Sam’s breath, before she eliminates the rest of the space between them. The newspaper flutters to the floor.

If the next few minutes are any indication, the rest of Brooke’s life is going to be pretty damn good.


	12. The Exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: final

Sam walked into class and the nervous feeling she’d had in the pit of her stomach since breakfast suddenly became clear.

_Shit._

It was the day of their final exam in biology, and Sam hadn’t studied at all.

She moved quickly over to her desk (Brooke ignored her, as usual) and began anxiously chewing on her fingernails.

Bio Glass walked in, looking particularly gleeful. “Okay, class,” she called out. “Put your various writing utensils away, we’re doing things a little different this time! You’ll each get one question; you have to come up in front of the class to solve it. Get it right? You pass! Get it wrong? You fail!” She tried (barely), but couldn’t manage to hold back a maniacal laugh. “This is gonna be great!”

Sam couldn’t believe it. Not only was she going to fail, but she had to do it while humiliating herself in front of the whole class? Fantastic.

One by one, students got called up, but Sam was so nervous, she could barely pay attention.

Brooke did perfectly, though, of course. Sam did manage to notice that much.

Finally, Sam’s turn arrived. On shaky legs, she just barely managed to make it up to the front of the room, awaiting her fate.

“Miss McPherson,” Bio Glass began. “Are you, or are you not, in love with Miss McQueen?”

Sam merely blinked.

“Wh- What?”

“You heard me, McPherson! Now come on, your grade is on the line, here!”

She couldn’t have heard right. No. Impossible. Sam risked a glance over towards Brooke. The blonde didn’t seem too concerned about the question, but her eyes wouldn’t leave Sam.

Sam began to sweat... What should she do? What could she do? Brooke was no help, there was no indication of what kind of answer Brooke wanted.

“We’re all waiting, McPherson!” Glass called out again.

Sam couldn’t help it, she started to feel the panic well up inside her and start to push its way out. What the hell kind of exam _was_ this?!

Sam opened her mouth to answer...

Sam opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling. Her heart was racing way faster than it should be.

_A dream._

Sam exhaled. Just a dream.

Still, she couldn’t stop hearing Bio Glass’ question echoing around her head.

_Are you, or are you not, in love with Miss McQueen?_


	13. Pretty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: numb

“Well, Princess? How do you feel?”

How does she feel? Brooke tries to think. Thinking is hard.

She remains silent, waiting for the pieces to click together. The loopy feeling, the numb tingling in her mouth, the fuzziness in her head...

“Sam!” she exclaims. “They took my wisdom!”

Sam chuckles. “Your wisdom _teeth_ , Brooke, yes.”

Brooke finds this oddly hilarious, and can’t stop the huge grin from spreading across her face. It proves infectious, as Sam smiles back.

“Pretty smile,” Brooke admits out loud. Whatever drugs she’s on have stolen her normal sense of control.

Sam’s smile disappears.

“What?” she asks meekly.

“Pretty smile, pretty girl,” Brooke explains. “You’re pretty,” she continues after a beat, as if to ensure that her point gets across.

Brooke feels like there’s more she wants to say, but she can’t quite remember. Instead, she mumbles a quiet, “Good night, pretty girl,” before she slips back into sleep, leaving behind a very confused (but newly hopeful) Sam.


	14. Learning To Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: broken wings

_Take these broken wings..._

By the time Brooke finishes being angry at the world, she’s too tired to feel much of anything else. Her therapist tells her she needs to move on, but seriously? Brooke thinks she deserves some time to sulk, after her supposed best friend (ex-best friend) almost succeeds in turning her into road kill.

It turns out that Sam, of all people, is the only one who doesn’t try to get Brooke to do something she’s not ready to do. That Sam, of all people, is the only one that Brooke really wants to see anymore.

So when she’s reached the end of a particularly long and painful day, and even Sam feels the brunt of Brooke’s anger before the brunette manages to calm her down and get her to relax, it’s really only meant as a ‘thank you’ when Brooke leans over to leave a gentle kiss on Sam’s cheek. Except, what starts out as a thank you soon turns into something more, and Brooke finally admits to herself that this is what she’s wanted for a really long time.

Maybe it takes nearly getting killed by her (ex) best friend to make Brooke realize what really matters.

_...and learn to fly._


	15. Keeping The Beat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: heartbeat

Sam was never that good at keeping rhythm, but she finds herself tapping out a steady beat almost everywhere she goes. Tapping her foot, or the pencil in her hand, or drumming her fingers on any surface available.

She doesn’t even really notice that she’s doing it until Harrison points it out. Even after he does, though, she can’t quite figure out what the rhythm is, or why she can’t seem to stop.

She doesn’t realize until that afternoon, that is, when she makes her daily stop by the hospital.

She’s tapping out the beat of Brooke’s heart; she’s been listening to the heart monitor for long enough that the rhythm is now stuck deep in her head.

So she sits, and she waits, and she taps along to the beeping sound, killing time until the moment when Brooke will finally wake up.


End file.
